This invention relates to a method of eliminating the lingering sweet aftertaste of certain sweeteners. Specifically, the invention pertains to the combination of dipeptide sweeteners with aluminum potassium sulfate, Naringin, or a mixture thereof, which serves to mask the delayed sweetness intensity of dipeptide sweeteners.
The use of low-calorie sweeteners in place of sugar for the reduction of caloric intake, for medical reasons and for simple dietary reasons, is well known. The best known nonnutritive sweeteners are the saccharines, cyclamates, and most recently certain nutritive sweeteners examples of which are the dipeptide sweeteners such as lower alkyl esters of aspartyl phenylalanine and their edible salts.
All of the above groups of substances are appreciably sweeter than sucrose and have a low caloric content. However, the saccharines and cyclamates suffer from the disadvantages of leaving a bitter aftertaste in the mouth of the user. Attempts have been made to overcome this objectionable characteristic by combining these non-nutritive sweeteners with certain blocking and/or flavoring agents such as ribonucleosides, ribonucleotides, sodium chloride, d-galactose, tryptophans and the like.
The sweet-tart synergism long known in the art to exist in honey is now known to exist in the combination of potassium bitartrate and saccharine as taught in the January - February, 1972 issue of American Scientist, vol. 60, p. 45. However, although the sweetness level of the sweetener is purportedly increased, no evidence is given as to whether the problem of a lingering bitter aftertaste is at the same time alleviated.
Some sweeteners particularly the dipeptides do not demonstrate the bitter flavor notes of, for example, saccharine or cyclamate, but rather impart a lingering sweet aftertaste to the mouth of the user. Although it has not been determined how the known blocking and flavoring agents function in terms of bitterness reduction in the aforementioned non-nutritive sweeteners, it has been determined that their effect is minimal considering the concentrations that need be employed. In addition, blocking agents such as d-galactose and certain tryptophans impart their own characteristic sweetness which is not desirable where you otherwise have a pleasantly sweet compound. Therefore, use of the blocking and/or flavoring agents now known in the art with dipeptide sweeteners is undesirable.
Ideally, a taste modifier which has the ability to reduce the duration of sweetness without, at the same time, imparting an added sweetness and which is effective at moderately low levels would introduce improved sweeteners to the low-calorie sweetener market. This invention affords a method of effecting the same by combining a sweetener having characteristic delayed sweetness with an effective amount of aluminum potassium sulfate, Naringin or a combination thereof.